Mary Travers 1936-2009
Before there was Joan Baez, there was Mary Travers, who died yesterday from complications associated with the chemotherapy she was undergoing for leukemia. As the visual focus of Peter, Paul and Mary, Travers added beatnik sex appeal to the earnest commitment to good works that characterized early-sixties folk music in the wake of straighter lineups…
Kurt Cobain is laughing in his grave
Like a bull in a china shop, Kanye West ruined what seemed to be an important moment for country singer Taylor Swift. As she accepted her award for best female video, West jumped up on stage and took the microphone to say – “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” Really, dude?…
Dude, Where’s My Czar?
New Left Media goes above and beyond the call of duty and gets some truly fantastic and hilarious interviews with these passionate teabaggers during the 9/12 protests in Washington, D.C . These people are pissed off. They’re mad about “Obamacare.” They’re really mad about black women having abortions. And they’re really, really mad about czars…
Harry Shearer On The Continuing Plight Of New Orleans
Harry Shearer, the voice of multiple Simpsons characters and a member of Spinal Tap, has been a relentless critic of the government’s response to the 2005 disaster in New Orleans. The Economist asked him eight questions recently, but this response to this one seemed to nicely summarize his informed take on the government’s failure to…
No Doubt, Coldplay, Monsters Of Folk Playing Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit
Or if you don’t want to watch the whole thing: The Bridge School announced that Neil Young, No Doubt, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Fleet Foxes, Wolfmother, Sheryl Crow, Gavin Rossdale, and the Monsters of Folk will perform at both nights of the school’s annual benefit at Mountain View, California’s Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 24 and 25….
Joan Baez: Human Being, Pacifist, Folksinger
Before there was Ani DiFranco there was Joan Baez. Bob Dylan’s former muse was pilloried as “phony Joanie” in the American press because of her public protests against America’s involvement in Vietnam and then for visiting Hanoi. Numerous causes later, the folk-singing pacifist, 68, is enjoying a late-game surge of interest with last year’s Steve…
How Marijuana Became Legal (For White People)
Since thirteen states have legalized marijuana for medical use, with another fifteen possibly doing the same by next year, Roger Parloff argues in a humongous Fortune magazine feature (“How Marijuana Became Legal”) that the plant has essentially been legitimized, at least on a “local-option” basis. Moreover, medical marijuana in California offers the benefit of an…
Primary Election Day: Get Out And Vote
Primary elections are taking place across the country. Right now! So if you haven’t already, hie thee hence out the door, down the street, and into a voting booth. (If you live in Utah, don’t forget your ID.) In areas where one party dominates, the primary election is tantamount to a general election, making it…
Maybe If We ATE Better…
We need health-care reform because of predatory insurance companies, right? Well, yes, that’s a big part of it. But maybe it should involve our collective national diet. Perhaps if we ate better foods we wouldn’t be plagued with Type 2 diabetes, heart conditions, and other preventable health disorders that cost billions of public and private…
Health-Care Reform And Social Media
“No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, join us in posting this as your status for the rest of the day.” So went the status updates of Facebook users a couple of weeks back. It’s unclear which individual or…